Resilient sealing strip



March 2, 1965 l.. w. PRYOR RESILIENT SEALING STRIP Filed Jan. 9, 1962 INV ENT OR. Kaza/7 ZIJ, .Wig/02' A T TOR/VE Y United States Patent O 3,171,165 RESHJENT SEALING STRIP Lucien W. Pryor, Anderson, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 165,137 7 Claims. (Cl. 20-69) This invention relates to a resilient sealing strip mountable on vehicle doors and the like to provide a weather tight seal around the door opening.

The invention particularly contemplates an improved mounting means for such a sealing strip comprising a sub stantially rigid member within the body portion of the seal shifted by depression of the body portion to wedge and maintain a hollow mounting protuberance outwardly in retaining engagement with a mounting member adjacent an opening therein through which the protuberance is initially inserted with slight clearance.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be ,apparent from the following description of a preferred illustrative embodiment, having reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of the Window frame portion of a vehicle door showing a sealing strip secured thereto in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a View similar to FIGURE 1 showing the sealing strip in position on the door immediately prior to being secured thereto; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective assembly view of the sealing strip and the supporting door structure.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, a door window pillar is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. This pillar comprises a window channel supporting and exterior frame member 12 and jamb-facing interior frame member 14 with a door frame channel member 16 sandwiched therebetween. These members are suitably secured together and the jamb-facing and door frame members have a peripherally spaced plurality of holes 18 and 2i), respectively. These holes are axially alignable with notched openings 22 in the side and bottom wall of the window channel supporting portion of the member 12.

A weather sealing strip is nested in the angled corner of the jamb facing member 14 and comprises a main body portion 24 with a jamb-engaging sealing lip 26 depending obliquely therefrom. As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, the body portion 24 has a plurality of spaced frusto-conical protuberances 28 which are insertable with clearance through the openings 18 in the jamb-facing member. A plurality of plug or pin members 30 are embraced within the sealing strip and project coaxially from said protuberances. These plugs may be of nylon or other suitable material preferably non-fusible with the resilient sealing material in the molding operation. In the illustrative ernbodiment, each pin member 3i) comprises a reduced diameter end portion 32 projecting from the free end of its respective protuberance, an intermediate frusto-conical wedge portion 34 embraced by the protuberance, and a cylindrical shank portion 36 embedded within the main body portion of the seal. The shank portion 36 is of a diameter slightly less than the adjacent conical wedge portion thus defining a radial shoulder 38 therebetween. The conical portion of each plug 30 cooperates with the conically tapered outer surface of each protuberance as molded to increase the radial thickness of the resilient protuberance outwardly from the body portion.

In assembly on the vehicle door, .the several protuberances 28 of the sealing strip are inserted through the mating openings of the jamb-facing plate members as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The sealing strip is then depressed "ice opposite each protuberance shifting the corresponding plug 30 outwardly of the protuberance into end engagement with the notched side wall of the window channel member 12. Such movement of the plug causes the protuberance 2S to be wedged outwardly over the conical and shank portions of the plug and into seal retaining engagement with the periphery of the opening in the jambfacing member. Upon release of the seal depressing force, engagement between the shoulder 33 and the recessed free end of the protuberance limits any return movement of the plug toward the body portion and locates the shank portion to maintain the protuberance in retaining engagement with the mounting member adjacent the opening 18 as shown in FIGURE 1.

While the foregoing description has been limited to a single preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: l. A sealing strip comprising a resilient body portion having a hollow protuberance insertable through an opening in a mounting member,

and a locking member movably mounted within the body portion and protuberance and having a reduced diameter end portion projecting from the protuberance, an intermediate conical wedge portion and a cylindrical shank portion, said conical wedge portion being embraced within said protuberance prior to assembly of the sealing strip on the mounting member, said locking member being shiftable by deflection of the body portion opposite said protuberance during mounting assembly of the sealing strip on the mounting member to Wedge the outer portions of said protuberances radially outwardly over the conical wedge portion of said locking member into shank maintained resilient locking engagement with the periphery of the opening in the mounting member.

' 2. A resilient member including a resilient body portion having a hollow mounting protuberance insertable through an opening in a mounting member,

and a rigid locking pin movably mounted within said body portion and mounting protuberance and prior to mounting of the resilient member on a supporting member, having a shank portion within the body portion within the body portion and tapered within the protuberance to an end portion of reduced dimension projecting outwardly of the protuberance,

said pin being shiftable outwardly of said protuberance by deflection of the body portion opposite said pin during assembly of the resilient member on the mounting member thereby wedging said protuberance radially outwardly over the tapered portion of the pin and into shank maintained retaining engagement with the periphery of the opening in the mounting member.

3 A sealing strip includin g a resilient body portion having a hollow protuberance opening outwardly of said body portion and insertable through an opening in a mounting member,

and a locking member having a shank portion mountable within said body portion and protuberance and having a lateral shoulder thereon facing the body portion and located within the protuberance prior to assembly of the strip on the mounting member, said locking member being shiftable by depression of the body portion opposite said protuberance after insertion through the opening of the mounting member thereby wedging the locking member outwardly of the protuberance into shoulder retained engagement with the free end of the protuberance opposite the body portion whereby the shank portion of the locking member adjacent said shoulder deectively maintains the protuberance radially outwardly in resilient retaining engagement with the mounting member adjacent the opening therein.

4. A sealing strip including a resilient body portion,

a hollow protuberance extending from said body portion and insertable through an opening in a mounting member,

and a rigid member movably mounted within said body portion and having a shouldered wedge portion normally embraced by said protuberance prior to assembly of said strip on the mounting member,

depression of the body portion opposite said protuberance after insertion through the opening in the mounting member shifting said rigid member to deflect said protuberance outwardly over the wedge portion thereof into resilient retaining engagement with the mounting member adjacent the opening therein, said shouldered wedge portion being engageable with the free end of the protuberance to prevent return movement of the rigid member toward the body portion.

5 A resilient member comprising a body portion having a hollow protuberance insertable in an opening in a mounting member,

and a substantially rigid member slidably mounted Within said body portion and projecting coaxially of said protuberance, said rigid member having a wedge portion embraced by said protuberance and tapered to a shoulder shank portion embraced by said body portion prior to assembly of the resilient member on the mounting member,

said resilient member being mountable on the mounting member by depression of the resilient body portion opposite said protuberance forcing said rigid member outwardly into shouldered engagement with the free end of said protuberance and causing the wedge portion thereof to deflect the protuberance outwardly into shank maintained locking engagement with the opening-adjacent periphery of the mounting member.

A resilient sealing strip comprising a resilient body portion having a plurality of spaced frusto-conical hollow protuberances insertable in mating openings in a mounting member, Y

and a plurality of rigid pins non-fusibly and slidably molded within said body portion coaxially of the several mounting protuberances, prior to mounting of the sealing strip each of said pins having a reduced diameter end portion projecting from its respective protuberance, a frusto-conical intermediate wedge portion embraced by its respective protuberance and a cylindrical shank portion of slightly less diameter forming a shoulder with the adjacent intermediate portion,

said strip being mountable on the mounting member by insertion oi the several protuberances into the mating openings of the mounting member and by subsequent depression of the resilient body portion opposite each protuberance thereby forcing each of said pins outwardly thereof into retaining engagement between the shoulder thereon and the free end of its protuberance and causing its frusto-conical portion to Wedge its embracing protuberance radially outwardly into shank maintained resilient locking contact with the periphery of the mating opening in the mounting member.

7. ln combination with a mounting member having an opening therein,

abutment means spaced from and limiting the effective axial dimension of said opening in the mounting member,

a sealing member mountable on the mounting member including a resilient body portion and having a hollow protuberance opening outwardly of the body portion and insertable through the opening in the mounting member,

and a rigid pin slidably mounted within said body portion and having a reduced diameter end portion projecting from the opening of the protuberance and an intermediate conical wedge portion shouldered to a cylindrical shank portion of slightly less diameter,

said sealing member being mountable on the mounting member by insertion of the protuberance through the opening in the mounting member and by subsequent deflection of the body portion forcing said pin outwardly of the protuberance into limiting end engagement with the abutment means limiting the axial dimension of the opening in the mounting member thereby wedging the outer portions of said protuberance radially outwardly over the conical and cylin-l drical shank portions of said pin into resilient engagement with the periphery of the opening in the mounting member,

and engagement between said shouldered wedge portion and the end of the protuberance opposite the body portion preventing return movement of the pin toward the body portion and retaining the pin in a position wherein said shank portion maintains the radially elected resilient engagement between the protuberance and the mounting member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNrTED STATES PATENTS 2,882,579 Modrey Apr. 21, 1959 2,876,485 Cowles Mar. 10, 1959 3,020,606 Ziler Feb. 13, 1962 3,059,292 Harris Oct. 23, 1962 3,116,528 Poe Jan. 7, 1964 FOREIGN PATENTS 884,123 Great Britain Dec. 6, 1961 1,051,695 France g 1 Jan. 18, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT oEEICE CERTIFICATE 0F CCRRECTION Patent No. 3,171,165 March Z, 1965 Lucien W. Pryor It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column Z, line 48, strike out "within the body portion".

Signed and sealed this 21st day of September 1965.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Atlesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A SEALING STRIP COMPRISING A RESILIENT BODY PORTION HAVING A HOLLOW PROTUBERANCE INSERTABLE THROUGH AN OPENING IN A MOUNTING MEMBER, AND A LOCKING MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE BODY PORTION AND PROTUBERANCE AND HAVING A REDUCED DIAMETER END PORTION PROJECTING FROM THE PROTUBERANCE, AN INTERMEDIATE CONICAL WEDGE PORTION AND A CYLINDRICAL SHANK PORTION, SAID CONICAL WEDGE PORTION BEING EMBRACED WITHIN SAID PROTUBERANCE PRIOR TO ASSEMBLY OF THE SEALING STRIP ON THE MOUNTING MEMBER, SAID LOCKING MEMBER BEING SHIFTABLE BY DEFLECTION OF THE BODY PORTION OPPOSITE SAID PROTUBERANCE DURING MOUNTING ASSEMBLY OF THE SEALING STRIP ON THE MOUNTING MEMBER TO WEDGE THE OUTER PORTIONS OF SAID PROTUBERANCES RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OVER THE CONICAL WEDGE PORTION OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER INTO SHANK MAINTAINED RESILIENT LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PERIPHERY OF THE OPENING IN THE MOUNTING MEMBER. 